The major objective of this research is to make significant contributions to organic chemistry and medicine through synthetic studies of natural products with antitumor activity, including mitomycins and aclacinomycins. We believe that the power of organic synthesis can be most effectively extended by challenging such complex synthetic targets. Mich of the progress in medicine depends upon the further extension of this power. It is also our specific objective to develop general efficient and practical synthetic routes to these natural products and then apply them to the synthesis of their analogs and derivatives with the hope that some of them will exhibit improved therapeutic ratios.